what's for dinner wednesday :: chili blanco

Hello everyone!

I know I missed a week - but you know what? That's okay!  We celebrated Brotherlouwho's birthday Friday and I was kind of caught up getting ready for that.  And I think we had ANOTHER snow day so my week got thrown off for sure!

Back in December I decided that this would be THE WINTER OF SOUP.  I know it's sounds ominous and exciting all at once!  And I've been trying to make soup at least once a week and not just all of our old standards.  So when my dear friend Megan (who gave me our favorite potato soup recipe EVER) handed this one over and said you need to make this, I had to oblige.

I'm not a connoisseur of the white chicken chili - but I've had it a few times.  I really liked this recipe because it was fairly simple and everyone ate it - oh, and it was delicious!  It also filled my huge 6 quart casserole so I know we can have it for dinner again or I can freeze some for later.

She told me that she makes the sweet & sour garnish mostly for the adults. I had to skip it this time because I didn't have everything I needed.  But I'm excited to try it next time! It's like a sweet and sour salsa to mix in. And feel free to add avocados - it's fun to be reckless like that!

Chili Blanco

4 cans drained small white navy beans

2 onions chopped

48 oz chicken broth

4 cups cooked chicken

2 cans drained corn

7 oz can chopped green chilies

6-8 cloves garlic minced

3 TBS chopped fresh oregano (1T dried)

4 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp cayenne

1 cup sour cream

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Juice of 1 lime (3 T bottled lime juice)

Saute onions in olive oil.  When they are browned put in a stock pot and add chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Add chicken, corn, green chiles, garlic, oregano, cumin and cayenne.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and cheese until melted.  Top with Sweet and Sour Garnish.

Sweet and Sour Garnish

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp celery seeds

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Blend and the add chopped tomatoes and cilantro.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try it!  What's your favorite winter soup?  I need more ideas.

 

what's for dinner wednesday :: penne and sausage skillet supper

I have a love affair with the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  And with Cook's Illustrated - the magazine put out by the same folks.  I kid you not, every recipe I've made from them is delicious and fairly easy.  They have a whole section on skillet meals - which I love!  They come together quickly, only require one pan and everyone loves them!

I've only made this one a few times and I need to remember to work it into our regular rotation.  A lot of the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, or are easily kept in the pantry or freezer.  

I hope you try it!

Penne and Sausage Skillet Supper

                                           ~ATK Family Cookbook
servings:Serve 4-6
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine
table salt
3 cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press
1 pound hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes , rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 pound penne pasta (2 1/2 cups)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
6 ounces baby spinach
ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sausage, and tomatoes and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the penne evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and milk over the pasta. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

what's for dinner wednesday :: lemon filled cupcakes

It's not a secret that I love to cook. I think it stems mostly from the fact that I like to eat good food! I also like the fact that it's somewhat of a creative process so even if I'm not getting any sewing/crafting/decorating in, I can always be creative in the kitchen! 

I also like the idea of themed posts - so by no means am I turning into a food-blogger but I am going to start posting food posts on Wednesdays! A bunch of us on instagram have been tagging our dinner prep posts #itswhatsfordinner and it's a fun and inspiring hashtag to follow when looking for dinner ideas! I won't always share dinner recipes on what's for dinner wednesdays - but any kind of recipe! I just like the alliteration effect - hahaha! So first up will be these delicious cupcakes that I made the other day! 

I had leftover lemon curd from the wedding cake I made for my sister-in-law's wedding and needed some birthday treats for a girl in my class at church. You can find my lemon curd recipe in this post - it's delicious and good on so many things! (think crepes, crumpets, english muffins, toast, a spoon - and there's an idea for little tartes in that post too.) 

So here's how I filled them! I cut out a little cone shaped hole in the middle of each cupcake and set the middles aside (lining them up so I could match them back up with their corresponding cup). I also cut the pointy part off so there was just a thin, flat top for covering the filling. 

I then used my little cookie scoop (think mini ice cream scoop) and dropped a dollop of lemon curd in the hole - not quite reaching the top. 

Next, I put the tops back on trying to line them back up so they sat flush and not leaking out any filling.

  

And of course frosting on top! I started in the middle of the cake to kind of secure the edges of the top. They were delicious and I neglected to take any photos of them being eaten. Think hostess filled cupcakes 1,000,000 times better!

You can use any kind of cake mix and frosting. However, I do recommend a white or vanilla cake to pair with lemon filling - lemon cake mixes overshadow the awesomeness of the filling!

Here's what I used:
Duncan Hines white cake (substitue milk for water - makes for a bit denser moister cake)
Canned cream cheese frosting (I know! the horror! I could have made my own but I didn't have time)
1 recipe Lemon Curd

I hope you make these - or at least try the lemon curd - it's so easy and delicious!!

What are you cooking or baking today?

cooking: another creative pursuit

There's something I've noticed over the last little while about people who sew, quilt, or are generally creative. For the most part, they also like to cook. And not just from a box, can or mix. From scratch.

It's not really that surprising to me, since cooking is a pretty creative process. Creating something of worth from lots of little pieces. Plus, as many of us care for families, it is something required everyday. I figure I might as well make it interesting and delicious!

Much like sewing, having the right tools makes a huge difference to me. A good chopping knife, and block are essential. My knives are courtesy a nice tax refund several years ago. The chopping block? My husband. He made it for me 5 years ago and it's one of the most useful and attractive things in my kitchen. I love it!

top-bottom: celery, carrots, rutabaga, leeks, onions

I love soup, and pureed soups are one of my favorites, with some good crusty bread.  I've decided with everyone being sick lately that we should be eating more vegetables.  And with the leeks and onions in this soup it's almost sweet when cooked.  And really, who doesn't want an excuse to buy a rutabaga!?

 

So I made some of this soup the other day.  It's from a soup cookbook I purchased in France.  It reminds me of those delicious, creamy first course soups.  But I like them for lunch.  With that bread.  Of course with the bread.  Did I mention bread?

My sweet mr.louwho is the best gifter.  He got me this lovely food processor for my birthday and I've LOVED using it!  Especially for this soup.  Basically you simmer the veggies for about 20 minutes and then puree it in the food processor.  Then mix it back up with some cooked rice, the liquid, and some milk.  Oh, and butter.  Of course.

 

And this bread.  I blogged about it a couple of years ago.  With the right tools (a baking stone and container to keep the dough) this is the EASIEST and prettiest bread you will ever bake.  Try it.

 

Now don't think I'm just going to leave you without the recipe!  Here it is.  Hope it warms you up on a cold winter day!

Potage a la Libournaise

4 2/3 C Water

4 2/3 C Milk         

2 carrots

2 turnips (or rutabagas)

2 branches celery

4 leeks

2 large onions

4 large soup spoons rice

2-4 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

parsley for garnish (optional)

Cut the vegetables in julienne (matchstick size pieces).  Bring them to a boil in a large pot with the water and salt (1 tbsp).  They should become soft to the touch (about 20 minutes).  

Strain the vegetables and reserve the water in a smaller saucepan.  Cook the rice in this water, about 20 minutes.  

While the rice is cooking, put the vegetables back in the pot and mix with melted butter.  Be sure to not brown the vegetables, just mix them well with butter.  

Puree vegetables in a food processor.  When rice is cooked, add rice with water to the food processor to combine.  (Or use an immersion blender straight in the pot.)

Pour soup back in the pot.  Stir while adding milk and let soup reheat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped parsley in the center of each bowl.

Bon Appetit!

possibly my favorite thing ever. or at least at the moment.

I was at a yard sale the other day with a lot of cool stuff.  I found some more dessert plate glass domes or cloches as they can be called, some IKEA play dishes, a tray, picture frame, and decorative shelves  that need makeovers, and a cool glass pitcher.   As far as yard sales go, I did pretty well!

While browsing, a friend and I spied these pretty blue glass pedestal plates!  They were so Amazing! And Turquoise! and Darling!  And taken.  I left, so sad that they had already been snatched up.

A few minutes later my friend called and said she found ANOTHER ONE!! And that she was going to get it for me!  If that isn't true dear friendship, I don't know what is (thank you darling, you know who you are).

And as soon as I read this post, I went and made the same cookies. Partly because they sounded good and partly because I wanted to photograph them on my plate. And mostly because I want to be just like her.

annnnnnd,
while we're on the subject of food.  This is my current favorite snack.  Pink Ladies + Monterey Jack. Sounds like a bad romance novel.

This pair is delicious.  And I love these plates.

strawberry. . . shortcake?

I ended up with some really good berries the other day. We like to eat them lightly sweetened with whipped cream for dessert. Due to some star alignment I had half a bowl left and a very quiet house.  I was tempted to just eat them on the spot.  But I resisted...

I was inspired by Pink's post from the other day. But I was too lazy to make biscuits. Or even some crepes.

But what I did have was sourdough bread.  Which is really good toasted.  I figured it wasn't much different than cake or biscuits, so, why not?

As the bread was toasting, I debated whether or not to butter the bread before putting on the strawberries and whipped cream.  Then I had one of those lightbulb moments.  OR, I had the nutella devil whispering in my ear.  After all nutella does taste good with everything (and yes, I had a period of time where I did try it on pretty much everything).

So out came the toast, on went the nutella, strawberries and whipped cream.  Repeat.

Easiest. Shortcake. Ever.

Except it's not really shortcake.  It's like, well, lazy girl's shortcake. Or, super fancy strawberry-nutella toast. OR a really good reason to work out tomorrow.

ten apples up on top!

I love that children's book - do you remember it? I've been on an apple craze lately.

I made 6 pints of apple butter early last week and then got in pie filling mode at the end of the week and finished it off with a little applesauce.

l-r: 1. apples ready for prep 2. I love my apple peeler/corer! 3. awaiting the syrup 4. ready to eat 5. my super helper making a magnifying glass out of a ring and the magnetic lid grabber.

It's so satisfying to look at all those apples all pretty in their jars. Some will be pies made for us.  Some will be gifts for neighbors and friends.

We've already eaten one jar of filling with vanilla yogurt and homemade coconut almond granola.  Then we had some of the applesauce on gingerbread cake.  And just in case you were wondering, baking soda is REALLY important in cake.  Unless you want gingerbread fudge as mr.louwho called it.  Ooops!

Now I should probably stop procrastinating that dress I need to make.

PS - Maggie made an appearance on Penny's blog, sewtakeahike,  the other day.  I'm with Penny, I love all you lovely bloggy friends!

sunshine in a jar

I'm finding the problem with being 8 months pregnant is that I want to eat a lot, but I don't want to cook very much! Or go to the grocery store.

But I did get into a cooking mood the other day.  My friend Deisha (for whom I helped make this bag and who helped me do some awesome freezer meals) brought some lemon curd over the other night to have on crepes!  yum!!

I've never made it before and it was so easy!  Really, it's like sunshine in a jar.  And you can even use bottled lemon juice!  She did and I never would have known.

 
And then I was helping out with a baby shower today and made these fun little tartelettes.

I love this cookbook.  She has a series of French cookbooks and I would love to own them all.  I have to admit though - I use this book mostly for the Pâte Sablée and Crème Pâtissière recipes.  It's like a sugar cookie crust with a vanilla custard.  You pair them up and top with fresh fruit!  delish - and very pretty!  But I digress.

For these little tartelettes, I made the crusts (Pâte Sablée) in my mini muffin pan and then filled with lemon curd and topped with half a blackberry.  Mmmmmmmm.

So, do you want the recipe?  Deisha said I could share it!  If it's rainy and still too cold at your house, this will certainly improve your mood.

Lemon Curd

3 large eggs

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)

6 T unsalted butter (chilled from the fridge)

Zest of 1 lemon (yes, I zested as much off of 1 lemon as I could)

• In a separate bowl whisk the eggs until combined.
• All other ingredients put in a sauce pan, over medium to low heat.
• Stir mixture until the butter has melted.
• Once butter has melted remove from heat. 
• Pour this mixture slowly into the eggs, while whisking, to temper them. 
• Then return the combined mixture to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 4 minutes, constantly stirring with a whisk. 
• As soon as the sauce begins to thicken, it is done. 
• Cool completely, put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the top of the lemon curd to avoid it developing a "skin" on the top.  (I poured mine into those two pint jars and covered with plastic wrap and the lids.)

 (Because the cookbook is still available I don't feel right about sharing the other recipes - I'm sure you could do a quick google search and find something similar!)

I love this idea! As I said last week, Tiffany asked me to share a recipe this week for her swap. Part of the swap is a linky party! And we all love those, right?  Click on the button above (or on the sidebar) to take you to the party.

She is trying to reach 365 recipes by the end of the week. That way we can have a recipe for every day of the year! Fun!

My recipe posted yesterday. The meatloaf is delicious, unfortunately - it's not very photogenic (I may have already said that).

I can't wait to see what everyone else is contributing!  I love to cook and eat, so this is right up my alley.  Let me know if you are going to participate so I can be sure to check out what's cooking at your house!

If you are interested in any other recipes and food related topics I've posted in the past, you can browse through them by clicking here.  

what's cookin', good lookin'?

First off, THANK YOU everyone who participated in Sew & Tell on Friday!  I'm so glad you are enjoying it and feeling inspired, that's what I was hoping for!

I have been cooking a bit around here lately.  I spent Thursday last week at my friend Deisha's (former personal chef) house learning how to cook some meals for freezing.  After a morning of chopping, dicing, sauteing and sealing, I have enough food in my freezer to last at least 6 meals, maybe more.  It will really come in handy on those nights when it's busy and I just need to heat something up!

I know the last thing you want to see is a picture of the inside of my freezer - but all that stuff on the bottom are flat packed meals - enough for 6 nights!!

We made enough for two meals (at least) each of  manicotti, stuffed peppers and creamy vegetable pasta.  I have the fixings to do a pistachio crusted salmon, chicken soup and Crock Pot Pork Chops!  I'm so excited!  Except now I think I need to upgrade my Food Saver to the fancy version with the pulse, wet and dry options....

And I think I've spoken of my love of Wegman's, the mecca of grocery stores.  Seriously, I'm not kidding.  They have an awesome bakery, patisserie, fish monger, butcher and catering counter.  Plus they put out a quarterly magazine with all sorts of good recipes.  I made this cauliflower and spinach gratin the other night.  Here it is cooking in the oven.

Mmmmm, okay so maybe it tastes better than it looks....

And I'm pleased to report that this pan was eaten all up!  Even the kids liked it! (Well, the secret ingredient is alfredo sauce.  How could it be bad?)  I'm planning on making a butternut squash and pear soup for a lunch potluck this week.  (The recipes aren't up on there web site yet - maybe when their next issue comes out, and then I'll share with you!)

Now, I tried for the first time to make apple butter!  Look at those glorious apples!  I used these two recipes: crockpot365 and recipezaar.  Unfortunately, I cooked it for 8 hours on high, not on low, and then I cooked it some more..... oops!  It made one pint instead of 4.  So now I'm trying to decide whether I make another batch and mix this stuff in, or if I should add some apple juice and thin it out.  I might do both.  I'll let you know.

And the other thing I've been cooking. . .

~insert ultrasound photo here~

Some of you probably figured it out already - we'll be moving Labor day to early May next year!

Plus, I've really been wanting to have a reason to buy something with this logo on it.

I hope this explains why I've been so slackery, tired, out of touch and unmotivated lately!  Now that I'm through the first trimester and my husband will be home all month I hope I can start feeling a little more normal again.   Plus, I'm going to have all sorts of fun baby things to sew!!  (This also explains my choice in patterns for that dress I'm making!)

a bridal shower

Here for the giveaway? Click here.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am going to a wedding in South Carolina next week. Over the last weekend I got to play a small part in throwing a shower for the bride-to-be. It was so much fun! And thanks to the hard work of my friend Jen, the house looked gorgeous and the food was awesome! Not that I would have expected anything less.

I threw some simple invitations together with the ink I had left in my printer and paper I had on hand. They inspired the colors for the decorations. I love the way it looked! (luckily Jen had some ribbon and white cardstock to dress one up for a keepsake.) I made some cake balls a la Bakerella for favors. They were lemon cake dipped in white chocolate. You can sort of see them in their cellophane bags under the invite.

Tissue pom poms, by Martha, adorned the windows.

An assortment of little sandwiches: curried chicken, waldorf chicken, and the quintessential crustless cucumber. (thanks to Jen for the recipes, found below)

Why yes, this salad did taste as good as it looks! Blueberries, strawberries, candied almonds, feta and mixed greens. She used Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette. That's my kind of salad. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit down with that bowl all to myself.

Really, who doesn't love a fruit kabob? (Even if the picture is blurry!)

I loved that she reused these lemonade bottles instead of pitchers. I thought they looked so cute!

And I've not jumped on the cupcake-love wagon, preferring more traditional pastry type desserts, but I have to say, these. were. AMAZING. I had blueberry-lemon and I can barely talk about it with bursting into tears of joy. They were from local bakery Baked and Wired.

We had so much fun celebrating our dear friend! Can't wait for the wedding. Did I mention that I'm going sans kids? I think I will be sleeping a lot. Not DURING the wedding of course. Just in the car.


The Recipes

Minty Cucumber Sandwiches

1 8oz. Cream Cheese1 Stick Butter
3-4 T. Fresh Mint (minced)
1 tsp. Fresh Tarragon (minced)
1-2 tsp. lime juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cucumbers, sliced
Sliced bread

Blend ingredients until creamy. Spread over bread of your choice, followed by one layer of sliced cucumbers, cut off crust. You can make these as open faced or close faced sandwiches.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Waldorf

1 lb. cooked chicken (minced)
½- ¾ C Mayonnaise
½ Celery (minced)
3-4 Green Onions (minced)
¼ C Dried Currants or Craisins
¼ C Slivered Almonds
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 T. Sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Curry Chicken

1 lb. cooked chicken (minced)
½- ¾ C Mayonnaise
½ Celery (minced)
3-4 Green Onions (minced)
¼ C Raisins
¼ C Slivered Almonds (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp. Curry Powder

Mix and adjust to taste.

le 14 juillet

otherwise known as Bastille Day! It's not really a secret that I love France. French things, french style, FRENCH FOOD. Okay, maybe really it's just the things they do with butter, sugar and flour that entice me. But one of my favorite memories of my time in France and Belgium was the crepes. Especially the ones eaten across the river from the Eiffel Tower filled with bananas and nutella, by far my all time favorite filling.

image via cafe triskell

Because today is the French national holiday I dedicate this post to all my dear friends and a dear country that I love! And, I wanted to share with you my recipe for crepes. Pretty simple really, just takes a little practice in the cooking...

Crepes!
3 eggs
Vanilla (to taste)
1 Cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar (optional - I actually rarely use it.)
1 1/3 Cup milk
1 Tbsp oil


Blend eggs and milk together in a blender. Slowly add flour while mixing (this will make the batter smooth – not lumpy). Add vanilla, sugar and oil.

Heat crepe pan or 10" skillet over med-high heat (on the lower end). Lightly spray pan with cooking spray. Pour (about) ¼ C. batter in the center of the pan and swirl it until it covers the bottom. Let cook until a shake of the pan releases the crepe and it slides easily over the surface. Flip using a spatula or a flick of the wrist!

As you cook the crepes stack them on a plate or foil. To keep warm until serving wrap tightly in foil and let sit in a warm oven. They can also be frozen and reheated.

image via cafe triskell

Fill with yummy stuff! Such as:
Nutella (with bananas!) Lemon juice and sugar
Jam Fresh fruit
Ice cream and chocolate sauce Applesauce
Smashed bananas cooked with brown s ugar
AND the whipped cream!!

I hope you don't get this too late in the day to join in celebrating with me and having them for dessert! If you do - let me know how you like them!

happy spring!

and belated Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I just wanted to share a couple of nifty egg ideas, um, for .... ahem, NEXT year. :)

There's always the traditional PAAS egg dying kit. Fun! and a blast from my childhood. But now there are 9 colors or something - I almost didn't have enough containers!

I saw this cute tutorial at V. and Co. for fabric covered eggs - and it was pretty easy! Although if you look at the orange egg you can see it wasn't put on an orange egg - I would spray the eggs white next time if my fabric doesn't coordinate with the egg color.

Now, do you remember this post? I love the idea of paying it forward. Well, because I responded to a similar post on my friend's blog she brought me these lovelies the other day!

Don't ask me how she did it. It has to do with silk ties and wrapping the eggs with them and then some fabric and then boiling them with vinegar and water... all I know it that they were the coolest eggs I've ever seen!!! And they made pretty darn good deviled eggs too.

Okay, I just googled silk tie egg dye and there were a ton of references. And, as I suspected it's from Martha!

This is as close as I got to a family Easter picture.... hmmm, I couldn't even get one of my two kids together. I'm not sure getting a group shot is possible. . . at least he's smiling!

a story of fabric, food and friends!

I had a feeling it would be a good weekend when this showed up on my doorstep Friday morning.

These are all Amy Butler prints. I'm sure you are shocked. I got the red for the binding of my Notion or Two quilt, the pink because I love it and the blues knocked me over with their cheery sunshine-y goodness. I thought I might make a bag out of it, but now I just want to wrap myself up in it.

And then I got to pick up my friend from the airport. We had so much fun catching up all weekend. We went to Wegman's, that I raved about, to have lunch on Saturday. Plus I wanted her to see the bakery and patisserie. Being French and all, I knew she would appreciate it.

And of course we brought something home, in this pretty box.

Telling us thank you on the price sticker, in french no less.

A gorgeous, tangy, sweet and crumbly-crusted lemon tart. (Don't mind the picture - it was dark)

One day I'll have the guts to ask if I can take a picture inside the store. You wouldn't believe the fruit tarts they have - they are gorgeous!!

We had so much fun talking about decorating ideas, thrift store finds, our kids, our memories together from when we lived in France. We pretty much talked non-stop the whole weekend! It was great!

We didn't get much accomplished besides eating and catching up. But you know how it is with old friends. You pick up just where you left off. No matter how much time has passed.

cilantro: an ode to Penny. and Lolly.

Lolly is part of A Notion or Two with me. Her blog is delightful and she's always sharing cute things to download and print as well as guest recipe each Sunday. I was reading last Sunday's post and saw that Penny was the guest! Penny, from Sewtakeahike, was my partner in swapping crime last fall and I've really enjoyed getting to know her. She is sweet, kind, generous, helpful and creative! You really should check out her tutorials and the PDF downloads she has available too.

I had fun reading the interview Lolly did and found out that Penny loves cilantro! Another reason we are friends. I told her about this dressing recipe I had and that I would post it for her.

There is this place I love to eat when I go to Utah to visit my mom. It's called Cafe Rio and their pork barbacoa is, um, well, . . . I'm at a loss for words. It's incredible. It's sweet and juicy and I can never get enough. When you have it with their fresh tortillas it's like candy. You can watch them make their tortillas while you wait in line. I think I read on one of their signs that they don't even have freezers in their restaurants - everything is FRESH.

They have a dressing for their salads that's to-die-for. I've come across many recipes trying to copy their concoctions. The pork is difficult to recreate but I think I've tweaked the dressing recipe so that it comes pretty close.

It's really pretty simple. Just put the following in your blender:

1 packet buttermilk recipe ranch dressing
1/2 to 1 cup mayo (the more you use the thicker the dressing - I use less)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 bunch cilantro (stems trimmed)
5-6 pickeled jalapeno slices
5-6 tomatillos (fresh or canned)
lime juice to taste (I'm generous)

Puree until smooth,

admire it's pretty green color and dark flecks of green,

Proceed to put it on anything and everything you can get your hands on!

I love this on taco salad, tacos, nachos, as a dip, on a spoon, through a straw. You get the idea!


So Penny, I hope you enjoy this! And thank you for the award!

I can think of so many people I would like to pass this on to. So consider yourself awarded if you are reading this or find your link on my sidebar. I'm continually impressed, amazed and inspired by all the awesome things I see people doing on their blogs. Thank you all for motivating me to do the things I love to do. I love sharing them with you! I'm not sure I would be as productive without this supportive community to share with.


:::If you are interested in my reworkings of the other recipes (sweet pork, cilantro-lime rice, black beans) for the salad, leave me a comment with your email and I can send you a word doc. I don't know how to make PDFs. :::

petite gateaux d'amandes

or petite almond cakes. They aren't really french - but I think desserts sound dressed up in French. They are probably more Scandinavian...

I made these yummy little cakes for Christmas eve. They aren't that difficult, but they are unique enough to have that allure of only having them certain times of the year. For some reason I have designated Christmas/New Year's as a time to make them.

It's a very dense almond cake - almost a pound cake. But you cook it in a sheet pan. Can you tell by the spreader how THICK the batter is?

I got the recipe from a good friend and great cook many years ago. You use almond paste (in a can or a tube) and I think it is the secret weapon.

Maybe mine seem suited for this time of year because I use a star cookie cutter to cut them out. But you could use any shape. I think my friend just used a small 1 1/2" circle. The leftover bits are great for trifle or shortcake type dessert too.

I was going to top them with lemon curd (delicious) but I thought I had some and didn't. Boo. So I dusted some with powdered sugar, others dolloped with a bit of strawberry jam (raspberry would be delightful as well). And some I just left au naturel.

Just trust me when I say it hard to eat just one.

Petite Almond Cakes
1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour, or 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. regular flour
1 8-oz can almond paste (Solo brand, or I used a danish paste that came in a little box with a tube of it inside)
1 1/4 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Grease and lightly flour 15x10x1 inch baking pan, set aside.
Sift the cake flour, set aside.
Crumble the almond paste into large mixing bowl.
Add sugar and 2 of the eggs. Beat 2 minutes.
Add butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 3 minutes.
Add remaining eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping sides of bowl frequently.
Fold in flour.

Spread batter in pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool. Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Using a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 54 cake rounds from chilled cake. Decorate as desired.

Decorating ideas:
*Orange buttercream frosting garnished with grated pistachios and mandarin orange segments.
*Chocolate buttercream frosting, garnished with shaved chocolate and chocolate dipped raisin or whole almond.
*White mountain frosting, topped with a sugared pansy.
*Pink mountain frosting, garnished with a pink rosebud.
*Lemon curd
*Fondant with toasted coconut.

looking for a last-minute neighbor gift?

When I was living with my parents after college my mom and I used to bake up a storm at Christmas. We'd make 5 or so different kinds of cookies and treats and deliver them to the neighbors. It was always so much fun! I loved my mom's kitchenaid and her big kitchen with counter space galore for the whole process.

Fast forward 5 *cough cough* or so years later and I don't have the space, time, or the energy. But I still wanted to do something edible (read: non-cluttery) and tasty. So I had a brainstorm of an idea! And without patting myself TOO hard on the back, I must say - I think it's a pretty good one. So good that I wanted to share.

a little backstory:
We love having a nice hot breakfast on the weekends when we have the luxury of a lazy morning. And we've been scarfing down some delicious whole wheat pancakes from a recipe my sister-in-law Christine gave me. To give the recipe credit, it started out as an imitation of some IHOP pancakes, but I think it's been varied enough to have become it's own entity.

I don't normally like pancakes, especially those of the gummy, dense, blah variety. But these are nutty and fluffy and soak up copious amounts of syrup (I'm a convert to the real stuff with nary a drop of high fructose corn syrup in sight). I think the secret is the Cream of Wheat. If I'd thought ahead I would have taken some pictures. . .but they disappeared to quickly.

Anyway, I thought this time of year with its slow mornings and family togetherness would provide ample opportunity and necessity for multiple breakfast options. So I made up my own pancake mixes and boxed them up with the recipe! All the recipients have to do is add the liquid ingredients and toppings of their choice!

The hardest part was growing and harvesting the wheat. Then I just called the little red hen to see if he would help me . . . okay I'm kidding. I did grind my own wheat, but it literally took minutes to

fill each bag,

print up the recipe:

Whole Wheat Country Griddle Cakes
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Instant Cream of Wheat
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 added tbsp of vinager or lemon juice for each cup milk)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil (or applesauce or a mixture of both)

Preheat a skillet over medium heat, spray with non-stick spray.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until all ingredients are wet.
Pour the batter by 1/3 cup portions onto the hot pan and cook.

Makes 8-10 large pancakes. Delicious ones.


and put it all in a cute box (dollar-bins at Target!).

It's fast for the giver. And convenient for the recipient. It's a win-win.

And in case I don't make it to your house - consider this my gift to you. Bon Appetit!